Paid in Full: Materialistic Items or Simplicity?

[EG8]

Consider the world we live in.
Are we still the same people we were generations ago? Or have we turned from a simplier life for a wasteful, materialistic one? Times are changing and some have refused to change with it.

Are you willing to keep up with the Jones' to buy more expensive items?



Take for instance a Rolex vs. a Casio. Both are watches. Both tell time, but one comes with a hefty price tag. You can purchase a Rolex anywhere from RM18,000.00 and up or you can save and buy a Casio for RM 50.00 and up. The purpose of a watch is to tell time, not to impress friends, family or co-workers.


Why would a middle class citizen be willing to go into debt for a materialistic item?



We forget that each item has a purpose. Are you buying it for a materialistic value or for a useful purpose? Does a name make a difference?



We have become a wasteful, materialistic nation. We are spending more than we make. For what? For useless name-brand items that sit in our closets, in our garages, in our offices, and all through-out the home. What if you took that money and put it into a high interest savings account? Could you retire early?



Of course you could.



Is it a neccessity? I believe this is a decision that each individual will have to make.



I prefer to live the simple life and enjoy what I have.

 

[EG8]

CHRONIC SELF-DOUBTERS TEND TO BE MORE MATERIALISTIC, STUDY SHOWS

COLUMBUS, Ohio - People with chronic self-doubt may be more likely than others to define personal success by having the biggest house on the block or a new luxury car.​

A new study found that people with enduring feelings of self-doubt scored higher than others on a measure of materialism - the tendency to value monetary success and material possessions over other goals in life. Specifically, they were more likely to believe that success was defined by what a person owns.​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Robert Arkin[/SIZE][/FONT]​

"Feelings of self-doubt can send people looking for meaning in their lives, with a goal toward boosting their self-worth," said Robert Arkin, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University.​

"If they aren't deriving a sense of self-worth from other parts of their lives, they may feel that owning a lot of things proves they are successful."​

Arkin conducted the study with LinChiat Chang, a graduate student in psychology at Ohio State. The study was published in a recent issue of the journal Psychology & Marketing.​

"For those people who are chronically insecure, materialism
seems to be a coping mechanism that they use when they are put
in a situation that makes them doubtful about themselves."

​

Arkin said research in countries around the world show that people tend to believe that materialism is a weakness of insecure people who doubt their self-worth.​

However, he said there has not been much evidence to confirm that.​

In one study, Arkin and Chang had 416 undergraduate students complete a variety of measures that examined their levels of self-doubt, several forms of materialism, and other psychological traits.​

The results showed that people who were chronic self-doubters scored higher in materialism. In particular, they scored higher on a measure of materialism in which people define success in terms of what they own. For example, they were more likely to agree with statements such as "I like to own things that impress people" and "The things I own say a lot about how well I'm doing in life."​

The link between self-doubt and materialism was confirmed in a second study that found that inducing feelings of self doubt could increase materialistic tendencies in those with chronic self-doubt.
This study involved 95 undergraduates - half who scored high in chronic self-doubt and half who scored low.​

Participants were asked to memorize words by relating these words to their own personality and experiences. Half the subjects memorized self-doubt words (insecure, doubtful, uncertain, etc.) while the other half memorized words unrelated to self-doubt (inside, double, unicorn, etc.). Prior studies have shown that this technique increases feelings of insecurity in those who memorize doubt-related words. In this study, participants were asked about their current state of mind regarding materialism, rather than their long-term feelings.​

Results showed that when participants memorized doubt-related words, those who scored higher on chronic self-doubt showed significantly higher levels of current materialism than those who did not have chronic self-doubt.​

But among those who memorized the unrelated words, there was no difference in immediate feelings of materialism between the chronic self-doubters and the confident participants.​

"For those people who are chronically insecure, materialism seems to be a coping mechanism that they use when they are put in a situation that makes them doubtful about themselves," Arkin said.​

Arkin said it is noteworthy that self-doubters score high on a type of materialism that equates possessions with success.​

"Chronic self-doubters are not interested in possessions because they bring happiness or because they simply like owning a lot of things," Arkin said. "They are interested in possessions because of their meaning, the status they confer. They believe their possessions demonstrate success."​

That's why materialism can be seen as a coping response for people who are uncertain about their identity, he said.​

The results also showed that materialism is related to another type of uncertainty - anomie. While chronic self-doubters tend to be uncertain about their own abilities and identity, those who score high in anomie tend to feel uncertainty related to their society and culture. They tend to feel rootless and believe society lacks clear guidelines for behavior.​

But whether a person suffers from anomie or self-doubt, Arkin said materialism is a poor coping mechanism. Other studies have shown that a materialistic orientation to life is linked with poor psychological functioning and lower life satisfaction.​

"The cycle of materialistic pursuits is disappointing and exhausting in the long run and can make people perpetually unhappy," Arkin said.​

It is better to find other goals in life and find areas where one can excel without resorting to material possessions as proof of success, he said.​

 

[infernaL]

rolex or casio ? neither .

handphone good enough lol

 

[BlackSamurai]

oh no, i fall into that group! i get loan to buy car and house!! I know i can't afford it now, but... but... , how silly am i.

 

[Dremel]

rolex or casio ? neither .

handphone good enough lol

LOL.. I concur.. less stuff to carry also :_:

 

[renxun]

sometimes branded items carries a personality... in fact... in business world..especially when d biz is dealing with quite large sum of transaction, d GM might need a bmw or even a merz as a neccesity....cant say kancil is also a car and y pay for more while kancil oso got 4 wheels...luxury gives confidence to self n on other pl towards u ...it does make a diff in business world... it had been a symbolization.....n slowly had become d rule of d game... its either we stay in or we are being kicked out frm it...

 

[infernaL]

another thing , by not wearing a watch u dont attract any snatch-thief rempit attention unless u so happen to pull out a spanking new rm2000+ handphone , then sorrylah . lol

renxun : cars could be bought via loan , watches could be from petaling street //

 

[zephyr3d]

definitely a point to be considered.

Same goes... a Satria Neo, or a Golf GTi? or a Bentley.... they both brings u fr point A to B... but one is a sub 50k car, while the latter is a million dollar car. :)

it is a materialistic world. For instance, my wedding dinner... my mom asked me why organise at a Cuisine that cost me more than in a chinese restaurant, and food isn't as good as the typical chinese main course....

well.. itz for the environment.. nice ambience... etc.. cool factor. But end of the day? itz just for ppl to makan only wot. Haiii... how how how? but i want the cool factor worrr. I'm torn between practicallity and ... and...

 

[auxoura]

julz married de ar?
poor fella.. :retarded:

I guess sometimes it just self satisfaction knowing that all that you earn, you wish to pamper yourself with something extravagant.

Like the difference between a Satria Neo and a Golf GTI.

Yes, both can take you from A to B but you must also remember the finishing touches such as the interior, the dash, the soft signal click sound when you engage, the gearbox. Its the little things that distinguish one item from another and those are the things that cost alot.

Like a Rolex and a Casio. The basic reason for a watch is to tell time but its the little things such as rose gold, diamonds, sapphire crystal glass and such. Again its the little differences that makes it expensive.

I guess it all bares down to how much can you afford. You have to be reasonable and but things according to what you can afford but it means making it difficult to survive and troubling the people around you than I think it is wrong.

:_:

 

[zephyr3d]

aikz.. what poor fella. But i'm poorer infact... hahaha... not cheap to get married. Thatz y i forgo my cars to get married. :P

no la.. not forgo.. more like... postpone.

 

[Tohsan]

definitely a point to be considered.

Same goes... a Satria Neo, or a Golf GTi? or a Bentley.... they both brings u fr point A to B... but one is a sub 50k car, while the latter is a million dollar car. :)

it is a materialistic world. For instance, my wedding dinner... my mom asked me why organise at a Cuisine that cost me more than in a chinese restaurant, and food isn't as good as the typical chinese main course....

well.. itz for the environment.. nice ambience... etc.. cool factor. But end of the day? itz just for ppl to makan only wot. Haiii... how how how? but i want the cool factor worrr. I'm torn between practicallity and ... and...

actually if u compare pound for pound and ringgit for ringgit, a Golf Gti only cost 17,500 pound sterling retail selling price,u earn there u use the money there, in one year time u are able to paid off your car with a salary of 2,500 pound sterling and still have money left for food and rent and other purpose. If you do the comparison against malaysia situation u can't do that, thats becos a car like satria neo not even worth RM15,000 in total for the cost of building this car, they are selling RM40k plus with all the bla bla bla add in from government,if they sell at RM17,500 than we all will be able to afford a better life and also in one year time we all already owning a car,no need to go thru current situation,some people have to pay car loan for 9 years, ridiculous!!!!

 

[N0eL]

It's just so sad to see what our society is evolving to. Most people you meet for the first time evaluate you for what u have, instead of looking at your capabilities which will get you those things eventually. It's just like the fishing story, you will eventually starve to death just by eating the fishes ppl gave you.

Possession isn't a method to show your own status. Everyone may get most luxuries they wanted nowadays, send in a form, get your instant plastic money appear from nowhere card, and u may buy almost everything on the shelves. What you dont see is the person struggling to pay for what they dont have and dont need in the first place.

 

[zephyr3d]

actually if u compare pound for pound and ringgit for ringgit, a Golf Gti only cost 17,500 pound sterling retail selling price,u earn there u use the money there, in one year time u are able to paid off your car with a salary of 2,500 pound sterling and still have money left for food and rent and other purpose. If you do the comparison against malaysia situation u can't do that, thats becos a car like satria neo not even worth RM15,000 in total for the cost of building this car, they are selling RM40k plus with all the bla bla bla add in from government,if they sell at RM17,500 than we all will be able to afford a better life and also in one year time we all already owning a car,no need to go thru current situation,some people have to pay car loan for 9 years, ridiculous!!!!

pls.. we're in m'sian. Lets not rub salt to it... itz painful OK. :P hahahaha.

 

[zephyr3d]

It's just so sad to see what our society is evolving to. Most people you meet for the first time evaluate you for what u have, instead of looking at your capabilities which will get you those things eventually. It's just like the fishing story, you will eventually starve to death just by eating the fishes ppl gave you.

Possession isn't a method to show your own status. Everyone may get most luxuries they wanted nowadays, send in a form, get your instant plastic money appear from nowhere card, and u may buy almost everything on the shelves. What you dont see is the person struggling to pay for what they dont have and dont need in the first place.

yea... itz even worst if itz within your family.

my bro-in-law would come back and show this and tat... i mean.. wtf? wat for man? haii.. sad society.

 

[si|verfish]

LOL...reminds me of that HSBC commercial.

The way I see it...if you can well afford something and you want it, go for it. I mean, that's what you work so hard for right? Otherwise, why the hell you bother? So you can stash the cash in your grave? Or so your son (or daughter) can squander everything and be a useless nincompoop?

Just as long as you don't let money (or greed) change the person you are. As long as you stay humble and appreciative and thankful, it is all good.

I think the article applies to those who wants to buy expensive stuff to SHOW OFF, more than to pamper themselves. That is just sad because these fellas couldn't feel happy about themselves unless they can constantly show that they have more than everybody else, which is never going to give them ultimate happiness because there will always be someone who is better than them. Sad fucks.